2018.4 Update: Lowered the rank for CSP because the bonus dropped, deleted AmEx Platinum for Mercedes-Benz because it is discontinued, added recently released Chase Iberia. Note that the new card Chase IHG Premier is not included in this post because the value of it sign-up bonus is less than $500 after subtracting the first year annual fee.

Credit Card sign-up bonuses may be the best way to get a great amount of miles / points in a short period. Some credit cards even offer sign-up bonuses that are enough for a round-the-world ticket! Together with Best Rewards Credit Cards that earn you lots of miles/points through everyday purchases, you will soon be amazed how many free flights/free nights you could have simply by using credit cards properly. Keep in mind that most credit cards that come with a high sign-up bonus also have an annual fee (although many of them are waived for the first year), and whether you should keep them for long depends on your personal situation. For our opinions, please click the link of each card and read our review. Also, some of the cards below have requirements for credit score or history. See our reviews for detailed information. Historical Offers Charts are beside every card, they can help you decide whether or not you should apply for a card immediately. Note that, in this post, we assume you keep these cards for only ONE year. After the first year, you may not earn more than the annual fee, but you can choose to downgrade them to no fee cards (recommended) or just cancel them (not recommended). Note that some co-branded airline credit cards are not included because too few people use those miles.

Sign-Up Bonus: 100k Hilton points, plus you can get a weekend free night in the first year (worth ~$300), plus for the first year you can get $250 air credit twice and $250 resort credit once (both are very easy to get). In total the bonus is worth about $1100 after subtracting the first year annual fee!

Sign-Up Bonus: 60k Membership Rewards (MR) Points, plus you can get $200 air credit twice for the first year. You can also get $200 uber credit during the first year, here we assume you only use half of it. In total the bonus is worth about $910 after subtracting the first year annual fee!